Lelo’s Gegelia: EU sanctions on Kulevi refinery represent severe political signal and condemnation of GD regime

“The European Union’s sanctioning of the Kulevi refinery is an exceptionally grave political signal and a damning verdict on the Georgian Dream regime,” declared Grigol Gegelia, a member of Lelo – Strong Georgia.

Gegelia emphasised that this marks the first time the entire European Union, rather than an individual European state, has levied sanctions against a Georgian entity.

“This is a tragic, dark moment in our history and a state of affairs in which our country should never have found itself. This goes beyond a single company or a single plant; it directly threatens Georgia’s international standing, its European path, and its core national interests. When Georgia’s strategic infrastructure finds itself targeted by EU sanctions, it signals that our nation is officially perceived as an element of Russia’s war economy.

On March 16, Irakli Kobakhidze insisted that ‘the Kulevi port, plant, and terminal are not being used to circumvent sanctions.’ Although the port was removed from the draft sanctions list at that time, four months on from his statement, we now see the refinery sanctioned for [quoting] ‘engaging in the trading and processing of Russian oil.’

The European Union has now formally declared that the Kulevi facility forms part of the Russian war economy, exposing Kobakhidze’s official assurances as false. This strikes yet another blow to Georgia’s reputation as a trustworthy, high-value transit hub, severely eroding our transit potential and exposing our economic security to critical risk. Naturally, when a candidate state’s strategic assets fall under a sanctions regime, it means its candidate status has been thoroughly and irrevocably hollowed out of any real political substance or ambition,” Gegelia stated.

Gegelia called on the public to confront how the country arrived at this juncture.

“How did Georgia end up here? How did the region’s once most pro-Western state end up standing alone, suspected of harbouring Russian oil operations and crypto-platforms? That is the defining question every Georgian must ask today. Under responsible leadership, Georgia would never have been exposed to such political ignominy or placed under such catastrophic economic threat.

Georgia ought to be a reliable partner to Europe, a resilient transit hub, and a state whose strategic infrastructure is viewed not through the lens of international sanctions, but as a secure gateway connecting Europe and Asia via Anaklia. This is precisely why we must bring an end to a regime that consistently brings international embarrassment, poverty, mass emigration, and a complete lack of prospects,” Gegelia added.